Reflective materials do the opposite by reflecting a lot more light back at the camera than normal fabrics, the camera believes the scene is a lot brighter than it is and it reduces the flash output. As a result, the image would be far too bright, and probably ruined. If you were able to trick the camera into thinking the scene was much, much darker, it would tell the flash to increase its output. Imagine there was a way to trick the camera into thinking that the scene looks different than it actually does. The five steps above take just fractions of a second - it’s so fast, in fact, that you’re unlikely to even realize that there were two light flashes rather than one. The shutter opens, the flash fires for real this time, and the photo is taken.The camera tells the flash how much light it needs for a “correct” exposure, and the flash will increase its flash output to match how much light the camera requested.The pre-flash bounces off the subject and is returned to the camera through the camera’s lens. The brightness of this flash is measured by the camera.The flash will emit a small flash of light known as a “pre-flash.”.The photographer presses the shutter button, and the camera tells the flash that the photographer wants to take a photo.Most camera flashes (or “strobes,” if you will) used by paparazzi photographers are controlled by the camera, in a so-called “through the lens” or TTL automatic mode. If you’ve ever driven down a road and seen your headlights illuminate road signs almost impossibly far away, or if you’ve seen so-called cat’s eyes, you’ve seen it in action. These are textiles, plastics or metal that will reflect light back to its source. The trick is to use retro-reflective materials.

Betabrand’s Flashback Photobomber and Flashback Silverscreen, and the ISHU anti-paparazzi scarves are some commercially available examples, but the basic technique has been in use for quite a while by camera-shy celebrities around the world.

There are a few brands that offer anti-paparazzi clothing. Anti-paparazzi clothing has been around for a while, and if you’ve ever wondered how it works, oh boy have you come to the right place. If paparazzi have a right to take photos ( they do) and newspapers are allowed to print photos taken by paparazzi ( they do), it stands to reason that those in the brief spotlight of an eager photographer’s flash have a right to fight back, too (they do).

Anti paparazzi scarf